Match report: A first half to forget for Villa

Aston Villa's return to Premier League action turned into a nightmare at the Amex Stadium on Sunday, as the Europa League champions trailed 4-0 at half-time in one of the worst opening 45 minutes of a season in Premier League history. The collapse, which unfolded in front of a stunned away end, was compounded by a red card for new signing Joao Gomes on his debut.

The damage began inside eight minutes when Victor Lindelof bundled the ball into his own net. Maxim De Cuyper doubled Brighton's lead roughly ten minutes later, and Jack Hinshelwood added two goals in two minutes — the second arriving just 80 seconds after the first, straight from kick-off after Gomes was caught in possession on the edge of his own box.

Gomes, a summer signing from Wolves, was sent off five minutes before the break for kicking out at Brighton's Georginio Rutter. The Brazilian had earlier been booked for waving an imaginary yellow card at Pascal Gross. According to Opta, Gomes became just the second Premier League player to be sent off in the first half of his first appearance for a club, after QPR's Samba Diakite in 2012. Brighton, meanwhile, became only the third team to lead by four goals at half-time on the opening weekend in the competition's history.

Villa failed to register a shot on target in the first half, and there were empty seats in the away end before the interval, though the fans who remained chanted Unai Emery's name.

A summer of upheaval

The collapse came against the backdrop of a turbulent summer at Villa Park. The club lost four players who started their 3-0 win over Freiburg in May: Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa. Rogers joined Chelsea in a record £117m deal for an English player, while Tielemans and Digne had their release clauses met — by Manchester United and PSG respectively. Konsa's move to Arsenal was reported as a £55m deal by some outlets and £51m by others.

The departures did not end there. Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez were both left out of Villa's matchday squad against Brighton, amid reports linking Watkins with a move to Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal and Martinez with a departure of his own. Emery, when asked whether Watkins' omission signalled the end of his time at Villa, paused at length and replied with a single word: "Silence." The Villa manager said on Friday: "I'm very excited, I think we have had an intelligent market."

New signings Zion Suzuki, Matteo Ruggeri and Alejandro Garnacho were named on the substitutes' bench, while Gomes started despite a calf issue. Johan Manzambi was unavailable due to a knee injury. Watkins, who had not played any minutes during pre-season, was left out entirely — a decision Emery had hinted at in his pre-match press conference, where he admitted the striker could leave.

Brighton's strong start

For Brighton, the afternoon was a statement of intent. Fabian Hurzeler's side had drawn 0-0 at Tromso in the Conference League on Thursday, but they showed no signs of fatigue as they dismantled Villa. The Seagulls, who secured European qualification on the final day of last season, made three changes from the team that started in Norway, with Ferdi Kadioglu, Malick Yalcouye and Ibrahim Osman dropping out.

Brighton also had their own transfer concerns — Carlos Baleba had moved to Manchester United before the opener, and Yankuba Minteh was unavailable amid departure rumours — but the hosts looked sharp from the first whistle.

Looking ahead

The result leaves Villa with plenty to ponder ahead of a home match against Arsenal on Monday. The club have been linked with Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson as a potential replacement for Watkins, and talkSPORT reported that Al-Hilal are expected to return with a fifth offer.

Emery's side had won both meetings with Brighton last season, triumphing 4-3 at the Amex and 1-0 at home, and had taken nine wins from 14 Premier League meetings between the sides. Hurzeler, by contrast, had taken just one point from a possible 12 against Villa before Sunday. But on this evidence, the balance of power on the South coast may be shifting.